Northern Canada Exchange Profile 2 March 1997 David Leibold This is a list of NXX ("exchange" or central office codes) as used in various northern Canadian points. The Northwest Territories and Yukon points (switching to NPA 867) are listed, as well as associated northern British Columbia and Quebec points (i.e. those British Columbia points operated by NorthwesTel, those northern Quebec points operated by Bell Canada). Other information on these northern exchanges (locality rate areas, etc.) is provided. The Northwest Territories will be split as of 1999. The eastern section, including Iqaluit, will be called Nunavut. The western section (including Yellowknife, Inuvik) will likely retain the Northwest Territories name, although new names such as Denedeh and Bob have been suggested. This edition of the profile does not sort out NWT places in terms of the 1999 political boundaries. 403/819/867 split (the territories): NPA (area code) 867 has been assigned for use throughout the Northwest Territories and Yukon. This will be in service as of 21 October 1997 and NPAs 403 and 819 will cease to operate into the territories as from 26 April 1998 and 867 (or "TOP" on the phone dial) becomes "mandatory" in the territories. Northwestel has set up a hotline to deal with the area code changes: 1 888 777.1867. A test number (867) 669.5448 will be in effect when the new 867 code is activated. 604/250 split (British Columbia): Northern British Columbia points operated by Northwestel changed from area code 604 to 250 effective 19 October 1996. NPA 604 can still be used in parallel with 250 until 6 April 1997, at which time NPA 250 becomes "mandatory". Test numbers for 250 are (250) 372.0123 and (250) 372.0124. Contents: * 403 Northwest Territories (western part), Yukon * 819 Northwest Territories (eastern part) * 819 Northern Quebec (Nunavimmiitunut directory area) * 250 (from 604) Northern British Columbia * 867 combined exchanges list * Other exchange information * General Notes ----------------------------------------------------- -- 403 Northwest Territories (western part), Yukon -- ----------------------------------------------------- [These NorthwesTel points will be changing to the 867 NPA] 206 Trout Lake ; NWT; new as of July '96 360 Gjoa Haven ; NWT 370 Lutselk'e ; NWT; formerly Snowdrift 371 Edzo ; NWT; connected as Rae-Edzo [note 1] 390 Teslin ; Yukon 392 Rae ; NWT; connected as Rae-Edzo [note 1] 393 Whitehorse ; Yukon; formerly for Pine Point, see [note 2] 394 Fort Resolution ; NWT 396 Holman ; NWT 399 Tagish ; Yukon; also Marsh Lake, see [note 4] 536 Watson Lake ; Yukon (see also [note 18] following 250 list) 537 Pelly Crossing ; Yukon 561 Taloyoak ; NWT; formerly Spence Bay 573 Wha Ti ; NWT; formerly Lac La Martre 580 Paulatuk ; NWT 581 Wrigley ; NWT 587 Norman Wells ; NWT 588 Tulita ; NWT; formerly Fort Norman 589 Deline ; NWT; formerly Fort Franklin 598 Fort Good Hope ; NWT 602 Nahanni Butte ; NWT; new as of July '96 633 Whitehorse ; Yukon 634 Haines Junction ; Yukon 667 Whitehorse ; Yukon 668 Whitehorse ; Yukon 669 Yellowknife ; NWT 690 Sachs Harbour ; NWT 695 Fort Simpson ; NWT 699 Fort Providence ; NWT 709 Colville Lake ; NWT; see [note 3], new as of July '96 713 Snare Lake ; NWT 769 Pelly Bay ; NWT 770 Fort Liard ; NWT 821 Carcross ; Yukon; see [note 5] 841 Destruction Bay ; Yukon; also Burwash Landing, see [note 6] 851 Swift River ; Yukon 862 Beaver Creek ; Yukon 863 Carmacks ; Yukon 872 Fort Smith ; NWT 873 Yellowknife ; NWT 874 Hay River ; NWT 920 Yellowknife ; NWT 952 Fort McPherson ; NWT 953 Tsiigehtchic ; NWT; formerly Arctic Red River 966 Old Crow ; Yukon 969 Ross River ; Yukon; see [note 7] 977 Tuktoyaktuk ; NWT 978 Aklavik ; NWT 979 Inuvik ; NWT; NXX to be changed to 777, see [note 8] 982 Kugluktuk ; NWT; formerly Coppermine 983 Cambridge Bay ; NWT; also Ikaluktutiak 984 Enterprise ; NWT 993 Dawson ; Yukon 994 Faro ; Yukon 995 Elsa ; Yukon; also Keno, see [note 9] 996 Mayo ; Yukon 997 Rae Lakes ; NWT ** Notes: [note 1] Rae and Edzo are separate exchanges that are 4 miles apart by air, 11 miles apart by "circuit" distance. These are combined as Rae-Edzo in directory listings. The exchanges presumably have a local calling relationship. [note 2] Some exchanges that had been listed for NWT have apparently been removed from service. Recent examples are: - 391 Lady Franklin NWT (test pack), now assigned to Red Deer, Alberta - 393 Pine Point NWT, now assigned to Whitehorse, Yukon - 777 Tungsten NWT, now assigned to Calgary, Alberta Some explanations for 391, 393 and 777: 391 was a code only used for calling cards associated with DEW Line personnel. These would be used for billing when placing calls with the Northwestel operator at Fort Nelson. These were replaced with 148-numbered cards in the early 1980s. 391 was retained as a "mark-sense" code for billing/ID purposes until it became obsolete circa 1990-91. 393 Pine Point has vanished. 393 has been assigned to Whitehorse since 1994 initially in service for "switched 56" services, then for Centrex and eventually for conventional lines. 777 Tungsten was decommissioned due to the 1989 shutdown of the tungsten mine in that centre. The exchange then only had two or three telephones in service and was eventually shut down two years after the mine shutdown. [note 3] The 1996 NWT directory has a page for Colville Lake. The catch is, there aren't any Colville Lake numbers to be found on it; just external numbers such as NorthwesTel contacts, RCMP, territorial services etc. 403-709 (to become 867-709) is the designated NXX for this locality. [note 4] 399 Tagish is the main rate centre. Marsh Lake is a remote Nortel DMS-100 type switch off Whitehorse exchange, established December 1989. Marsh Lake telephone numbers are in the 399-4xxx range. Tagish has all other ranges: 399-2xxx, 399-3xxx, 399-9xxx. Calls between Tagish and Marsh Lake are long distance, despite the use of the same NXX. [note 5] One pay phone and one or two business phones in Fraser, BC (approx 55 km from Carcross) are connected to the 821 Carcross exchange. Canada Customs for the Klondike Highway is based in Fraser. [note 6] Burwash Landing is connected to the 841 Destruction Bay exchange, albeit at an extra $4.19/month local service rate representing the connection distance to the central office. The two communities have local calling with each other. [note 7] 969 Ross River used to have a remote number series with Ketza River having the 969-7xxx number range. Long distance applied between Ross River and Ketza River. [note 8] 403-979 Inuvik will need to have an NXX change as NPA 867 is established. This is because it conflicts with 819-979 Iqaluit which will become 867-979. Inuvik's new NXX will be 867-777 (note that 403-777 cannot be used to call Inuvik during the permissive dialing period, since that is already in use in Calgary [note 2]). [note 9] Keno (or Keno Hill, or Keno City) has rural multi-party service off 995 Elsa central office. [note 10] Direct dial access is expected to two other communities in 1997: Jean Marie River and Kakisa. Assignments under NPA 403 may be needed if the introduction of these exchanges is prior to the activation of NPA 867. Umingmaqtok (Baychimo) is another place slated to have a direct dial connection. This is contingent on the installation of commercial power in that community, likely after NPA 867 comes into effect. ---------------------------------------------- -- 819 Northwest Territories (eastern part) -- ---------------------------------------------- [These NorthwesTel points will be changing to the 867 NPA] 252 Resolute Bay ; NWT 253 Little Cornwallis Island ; NWT 266 Sanikiluaq ; NWT 436 Nanisivik ; NWT; local calling to Arctic Bay [note 12] 439 Arctic Bay ; NWT; local calling to Nanisivik [note 12] 462 Repulse Bay ; NWT 473 Pangnirtung ; NWT 484 (formerly Purtuniq) ; decommissioned - see [note 13] 645 Rankin Inlet ; NWT 793 Baker Lake ; NWT 857 Arviat ; NWT, formerly Eskimo Point 896 Whale Cove ; NWT 897 Cape Dorset ; NWT 898 Chesterfield Inlet ; NWT 899 Pond Inlet ; NWT 924 Clyde River ; NWT 925 Coral Harbour ; NWT 927 Broughton Island ; NWT 928 Hall Beach ; NWT 934 Igloolik ; NWT 939 Kimmirut ; NWT, formerly Lake Harbour 979 Iqaluit ; NWT, formerly Frobisher Bay 980 Grise Fiord ; NWT, see [note 11] ** Notes: [note 11] 980 Grise Fiord was billed by Bell Canada as the world's most northerly exchange some years ago. Whether this accomplishment has been beaten is not known. [note 12] A local calling relationship exists between Arctic Bay and Nanisivik. Current phone books do not seem to indicate any local calling links, although this is confirmed in the tariffs. [note 13] The Purtuniq 819-484 exchange appeared in Bell Canada's northern Quebec and eastern NWT directory a number of years ago. This had only the listing for Asbestos Corporation. Purtuniq disappeared for reasons unknown (Asbestos discontinued operations? New communications system implemented that did not occupy an entire NXX for a single customer?) ---------------------------------------------------------- -- 819 Northern Quebec (Nunavimmiitunut directory area) -- ---------------------------------------------------------- [These Bell Canada northern points are in Quebec and as such will not be changing to the 867 NPA] 254 Inukjuak 255 Salluit 331 Umiujaq 337 Kangiqsualujjuaq ; formerly Port-Nouveau-Quebec 338 Kangiqsujuaq 491 Aupaluk 492 Quaqtaq 496 Akulivik 633 Tasiujaq 922 Ivujivik 929 Poste-de-la-Baleine ; Kuujjuarapik 935 Kangirsuk 988 Puvirnituq ; was listed Povungnituk - Misspelled? Changed? ** Notes: [note 14] Interestingly enough, Bell Canada doesn't use the standard 310.BELL business office number in this region, but instead uses 811 (with the exception of 1-811 used in Kangiqsualujjuaq and Kangiqsujuaq exchanges). ---------------------------------------------- -- 250 (from 604) Northern British Columbia -- ---------------------------------------------- [These points will not be changing to the 867 NPA] 232 Toad River ; also Summit Lake (232-7xxx) 233 Fort Nelson ; new, cellular and Centrex only as of Aug. '96 234 Iskut 235 Telegraph Creek 236 Bearskin Lake 237 Bob Quinn 239 Good Hope Lake ; [note 15] 471 Fort Ware 651 Atlin ; northern BC Tel exchange - see [note 17] 771 Dease Lake 774 Fort Nelson 772 Wonowon ; also Upper Halfway, see [note 16] 773 Prophet River ; formerly referred to as Minaker 776 Muncho Lake ; also Mould Creek (776-7xxx) 778 Cassiar ; see [note 15] 779 Lower Post ; see [note 18] ** Notes: [note 15] 239 Good Hope Lake is local to Cassiar 778. This local connection adds $4.98/month to local rates in Good Hope Lake. [note 16] 772 Upper Halfway (772-50xx), Wonowon (772-3xxx, 772-4xxx) 772 Wonowon is the main centre with numbers in the 772-3xxx and 772-4xxx range. Upper Halfway (772-50xx range) is a "Rural Serving Area", costing customers $41/month extra, but connected to the Wonowon switch with local calling between places. [note 17] Atlin (604-651, soon to be 250-651) is a northern BC Tel exchange, but listed in the Northern BC/Yukon directories for reference. [note 18] 779 Lower Post has locality with Watson Lake, Yukon (403-536) and an extra $2.91/month per line local service rate. --------------------------------- -- 867 combined exchanges list -- --------------------------------- [This is what the new 867 NPA will look like when it takes effect (subject to any new NXXes that might go into service in the future)] 206 Trout Lake ; NWT; new as of July '96 252 Resolute Bay ; NWT 253 Little Cornwallis Island ; NWT 266 Sanikiluaq ; NWT 360 Gjoa Haven ; NWT 370 Lutselk'e ; NWT; formerly Snowdrift 371 Edzo ; NWT; connected as Rae-Edzo 390 Teslin ; Yukon 392 Rae ; NWT; connected as Rae-Edzo 393 Whitehorse ; Yukon; formerly for Pine Point, see [note 2] 394 Fort Resolution ; NWT 396 Holman ; NWT 399 Tagish ; Yukon; also Marsh Lake, see [note 4] 436 Nanisivik ; NWT; local calling to Arctic Bay [note 12] 439 Arctic Bay ; NWT; local calling to Nanisivik [note 12] 462 Repulse Bay ; NWT 473 Pangnirtung ; NWT 536 Watson Lake ; Yukon (see also [note 18] following 250 list) 537 Pelly Crossing ; Yukon 561 Taloyoak ; NWT; formerly Spence Bay 573 Wha Ti ; NWT; formerly Lac La Martre 580 Paulatuk ; NWT 581 Wrigley ; NWT 587 Norman Wells ; NWT 588 Tulita ; NWT; formerly Fort Norman 589 Deline ; NWT; formerly Fort Franklin 598 Fort Good Hope ; NWT 602 Nahanni Butte ; NWT; new as of July '96 633 Whitehorse ; Yukon 634 Haines Junction ; Yukon 645 Rankin Inlet ; NWT 667 Whitehorse ; Yukon 668 Whitehorse ; Yukon 669 Yellowknife ; NWT 690 Sachs Harbour ; NWT 695 Fort Simpson ; NWT 699 Fort Providence ; NWT 709 Colville Lake ; NWT; see [note 3], new as of July '96 713 Snare Lake ; NWT 769 Pelly Bay ; NWT 770 Fort Liard ; NWT 777 Inuvik ; NWT; NXX changed from 403-979, see [note 8] 793 Baker Lake ; NWT 821 Carcross ; Yukon; see [note 5] 841 Destruction Bay ; Yukon; also Burwash Landing, see [note 6] 851 Swift River ; Yukon 857 Arviat ; NWT, formerly Eskimo Point 862 Beaver Creek ; Yukon 863 Carmacks ; Yukon 872 Fort Smith ; NWT 873 Yellowknife ; NWT 874 Hay River ; NWT 896 Whale Cove ; NWT 897 Cape Dorset ; NWT 898 Chesterfield Inlet ; NWT 899 Pond Inlet ; NWT 920 Yellowknife ; NWT 924 Clyde River ; NWT 925 Coral Harbour ; NWT 927 Broughton Island ; NWT 928 Hall Beach ; NWT 934 Igloolik ; NWT 939 Kimmirut ; NWT, formerly Lake Harbour 952 Fort McPherson ; NWT 953 Tsiigehtchic ; NWT; formerly Arctic Red River 966 Old Crow ; Yukon 969 Ross River ; Yukon; see [note 7] 977 Tuktoyaktuk ; NWT 978 Aklavik ; NWT 979 Iqaluit ; NWT, formerly Frobisher Bay (Inuvik see 777) 980 Grise Fiord ; NWT 982 Kugluktuk ; NWT; formerly Coppermine 983 Cambridge Bay ; NWT; also Ikaluktutiak 984 Enterprise ; NWT 993 Dawson ; Yukon 994 Faro ; Yukon 995 Elsa ; Yukon; also Keno, see [note 9] 996 Mayo ; Yukon 997 Rae Lakes ; NWT -------------------------------- -- Other exchange information -- -------------------------------- According to recent Northwestel information, the following are the "locality rate areas" and the home exchanges to which they belong. Locality Rate Area Home Exchange Mileage Band ------------------ ------------- ------------ Apex, NWT Iqaluit, NWT 1 Bear Creek, Y Dawson, Y 1 Burwash Landing, Y Destruction Bay, Y 3 Collison, Y Dawson, Y 1 Canyon Creek, Y Haines Junction, Y 4 Delancey Estates, NWT Hay River, Y 1 Detah, NWT Yellowknife, NWT 1 Fort Nelson Airport, BC Fort Nelson, BC 1 Fort Smith Airport, NWT Fort Smith, NWT 1 Golden Horn, Y Whitehorse, Y 2 Good Hope Lake, BC Cassiar, BC 4 Henderson Corner, Y Dawson, Y 3 Industrial Sub, NWT Fort Simpson, NWT 1 Inuvik Airport, NWT Inuvik, NWT 2 Inuvik Shell Lake, NWT Inuvik, NWT 1 Lo-Bird Trailer Court, Y Whitehorse, Y 1 Lower Post, BC Watson Lake, Y 2 McPherson Sub, Y Whitehorse, Y 1 McRae, Y Whitehorse, Y 1 Mary Lake Sub, Y Whitehorse, Y 2 Mile 92 Alaska Highway, BC Wonowon, BC 1 Mile 285 Alaska Highway, BC Fort Nelson, BC 2 Mile 304 Alaska Highway, BC Fort Nelson, BC 1 Mile 913 Alaska Highway, Y Whitehorse, Y 1 Paradise Gardens, NWT Hay River, NWT 3 Rock Creek, Y Dawson, Y 2 Upper Liard, Y Watson Lake, Y 1 Watson Lake Airport, Y Watson Lake, Y 1 Watson Lake Cottage Sub., Y Watson Lake, Y 1 Wild Rose Subdivision, NWT Fort Simpson, NWT 1 Wolf Creek, Y Whitehorse, Y 1 Locality rate areas have a surcharge on local line service, depending on the Mileage Band (distance from base exchange). Extra Mileage Band costs were in effect as of 1996 and subject to change. Band Miles Individual 2-Party ---- ----- ---------- ------- 1 0-6 $1.96 $1.64 2 6-10 $2.91 $2.28 3 10-15 $4.19 $3.29 4 15-20 $4.98 $3.82 Local monthly rates are determined by the "rate group" of an exchange, the number of telephone lines that can be reached in the calling area. Group # Local Lines ----- ------------- 1 1 to 500 2 501 to 1000 3 1001 to 4000 4 4001 to 12500 Thus an exchange with 750 lines in the local area falls into rate group 2 (501-1000 lines). The following exchanges fall into rate groups of 2 or higher (all other, smaller, exchanges are rate group 1). Exchange Rate Group -------- ---------- Cambridge Bay, NWT 2 Dawson City, Y 2 Fort Nelson, BC 3 Fort Simpson, NWT 2 Fort Smith, NWT 3 Hay River, NWT 3 Inuvik, NWT 3 Iqaluit, NWT 3 Norman Wells, NWT 2 Rankin Inlet, NWT 3 Watson Lake, Y 2 Whitehorse, Y 4 Yellowknife, Y 4 ------------------- -- General Notes -- ------------------- Telephone directories for these regions are currently: - Yukon and Northern British Columbia (NorthwesTel) - Northwest Territories (NorthwesTel) - Nunavimmiitunut (Northern Quebec, Bell Canada) Phone book information was used in updating the above NXX listings. Prior to a corporate shuffle in recent times, the phone book areas were split along corporate lines: NorthwesTel areas (western NWT) had directories for Yukon/northern BC (similar to today) and a western NWT directory (their NPA 403 points). Bell Canada had one northern directory which consisted of its eastern NWT and northern Quebec points (their NPA 819 points). The Nunavimmiitunut phone book is small, but is tri-lingual (Inuktitut, French, then English). There were three introductory sections (one per language) and two sets of listings (one with the Inuktitut character set, and the other which was for French and English). NorthwesTel's Northwest Territories phone book had Inuktitut and English sections. The Yukon/Northern BC book is in English only. Phone bill forms are English and French in the Northwestel 403/604 (or soon 867 west/250) regions, and English/Inuktitut in the 819 (soon 867 east) regions. Printed details are in English in these cases. Disconnect notices are in English, French and Inuktitut. No other regional language such as Dogrib or Loucheux is used by Northwestel. Information compiled from various Northwestel, Bell Canada and other telco sources. Thanks to Geoff Capp, Ray Chow and Mark Cuccia for additional info and assistance with this document.